Toddler Hamish Smith has a rather unusual family pet.. in fact, he has a whole herd of them.

His grandmother Tilly and her husband Alan own Britain’s only free-ranging reindeer herd, which roam the Cairngorm mountains near Aviemore and the Glenlivet Estate near Tomintoul.

Tilly has written about her family’s amazing life with the 150-strong herd that she has taken care of for almost 40 years.

From the reindeer who would push his way into the family kitchen looking for milk to the boisterous male who stabbed Alan through the leg with his antlers, Tilly reveals some of the extraordinary secrets about the reindeer tribe – including the fact that their noses really do glow in the dark.

Tilly, 58, who runs the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre with her husband and two children, Alex, 33 and Fiona, 32, admits she lives, sleeps and breathes reindeer. She said: “I am a self-confessed reindeer geek. I have a house full of reindeer photos, paintings, antlers, skins, books, chopping boards and other reindeer memorabilia I have collected. They are my life, they are my family’s life.

Tilly Smith at the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre, which she owns with her husband (Image: Alamy)

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“Many of my foreign holidays have been to reindeer herding regions and barely a day goes by when I am not doing something related to reindeer.”

Tilly, whose reindeer antlers are used in Game Of Thrones, said the animal’s appeal is in their independent yet lovable nature.

She said: “I love reindeers for their wildness and their tameness. They are fiercely independent but they also love being around people.”

At this time of year, Tilly is usually preparing for the festive season but her book, Reindeer: An Arctic Life, reveals the family’s 365-days-a-year dedication to the animals.

She said: “The reindeer are about to start their sleigh training. From the first weekend in November through to Christmas Day, small teams will be travelling up and down the UK delighting children and adults alike.

“Everyone loves them. They are such a symbol of Christmas and they bring magic wherever they go.”

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Reindeer were once found naturally in Scotland, their presence recorded by the Orkneyinga saga, a historical narrative of the islands, 800 years ago. It is unclear why they died out.

They were reintroduced to the Cairngorms in 1952 when Swedish reindeer herder Mikel Utsi and his wife Ethel Lundgren imported two bull reindeer and five cows from their homeland as an experiment.

Tilly and her husband Alan, 58, who came to work for the Utsis in 1978, bought the herd in 1989 and have dealt with some little reindeer with big personalities.

Every year their new calves are named after a theme and this year it’s criminal detectives.

Tilly said: “They all have different characters. Mystery was found wandering around the car park at the Cairngorm ski centre in the 90s. We had no idea where he had come from or who he belonged to. He had to be hand-reared.

“Drop Dead Fred was another character. We took him away from his mum Marie when he was a newborn as she wasn’t producing enough milk. He nearly died twice but always rallied, hence his name. He was very boisterous and used to push his way into the kitchen looking for his bottle.

Hamish Smith will grow up surrounded by the animals at the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre (Image: UGC)

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“I don’t have favourites but I am very close to a young male called Atlantic. He developed an infection in his hoof and needed a toe amputated, which for a reindeer is extremely risky as they use their feet for balancing. He had the op in January 2017 and healed amazingly well but ever since he has been my shadow.

“There’s also naughty Fergus, who was abandoned by his mum when he was two weeks old. He likes to jostle and managed to stab Alan in the leg with his antler.”

Tilly, who did a zoology degree at Bristol University, started work as a volunteer with the Cairngorm reindeer in 1981.

She said: “Now, 37 years on, I’m still in my first job – albeit I now get paid, I’m married to the reindeer herder I met on my first day and we are members of the World Reindeer Herder’s Association.

“Luckily our children are as much in love with the reindeer as we are. They are involved in the business and we will pass it on to them when we retire.

“It’s lovely to know the future of the nation’s reindeer is in safe hands for another generation and perhaps the next too as our grandson Hamish is as besotted by the reindeer as the rest of us.”